Archives for October 2016

Breaking down silos

October 27, 2016 by Martin Leave a Comment

One of the conundrums facing our council is how we break down silos. This is a topic that’s been kicked about and debated since I joined the council in 1986! The truth is that we’re a large and complex organisation and few people understand in any detail the breadth or importance of what we do. Last Friday I was with the Innovation Community group that’s looking at the challenge of breaking down silos in the organisation. One member of the group explained he has a regular walk from the west hub of the Civic Centre to the reception area and passes dozens of offices without the slightest idea of what the various teams in them do. He suggested that signage might overcome this and the group are considering how best this can be achieved. We also discussed the potential for job swaps across the organisation and using technology to make it easier for staff, councillors and the public to find people in the organisation.

I was also delighted to see that the Innovation Community had taken on board my suggestion for my personal involvement in the “It’s All About You 2” event taking place next month. More on this in the coming week.

Budget

We’ve now had time to reflect on last week’s provisional funding settlement from the Welsh Government. In simple cash terms we’ve got a £1.4m increase which is good news, but, as always, the devil is in the detail. The increase actually masks a 2% cut in core grant funding so it’s not all good news. There’s also no extra cash for the additional commitments contained within the budget announcement. Neither is there any funding guarantee for specific services, which has been a feature in past settlements. Add to this our extra spending pressures of £14m for things like rising demand in adult services, pay awards for council and school staff and the cost of borrowing, and the picture isn’t so bright.

To deal with this Heads of Service have been invited to a series of budget challenge days in November where they’ll discuss with Cabinet Members the pressures they face along with potential service reductions. It’ll then be up to the Cabinet to agree savings proposals that will go out for public consultation before Christmas. I’ll keep you informed of developments but we’ll also be holding staff roadshows to get your views.

Regeneration in Mumbles

On Tuesday Councillor Robert Francis-Davies and I visited the Oyster Wharf development in Mumbles to talk to the developers, Nextcolour, about progress and the timetable for completion. I have fond memories of the Tivoli building from my childhood but it was well past its sell-by date and it’s good news that there’s significant investment under way. The project is on track and the new supermarket is scheduled to open on November 9 followed closely by the Prezzo and Loungers restaurants at the end of the month. Le Bistrot Pierre restaurant will follow shortly afterwards, along with a new venue owned by the company behind La Braseria and La Parilla. The sea views over Mumbles Bay are superb and I suspect this will be a popular haunt for a number of council employees in the years to come. It will be a perfect vantage point for the Airshow, raft race and other bay-based events.

The developers were full of praise for the council officers and Members who have helped to ensure the delivery of this project. It’s been a genuine Team Swansea approach which we’ll build upon as our city centre and wider regeneration schemes progress.

CMT

On Wednesday CMT discussed a range of reports including commissioning gateway reports on the Family Support Services’ Child Disability service and the Parks & Cleansing services. These are massive pieces of work and the staff who contributed have done a great job bringing the information together and developing recommendations to make services more efficient and effective.

CMT also discussed progress on the implementation of the Welsh Language Standards including information on outstanding issues, areas of concern and complaints so far received on compliance. Phil Couch, our Equality Policy Officer, explained clearly the state of play, including those areas where more work is needed to achieve compliance and CMT was reassured that appropriate action is being taken.

Sales

Our strategic estates team continue to do great work on making best use of the council’s property and land portfolio. In the last five years more than £19m generated by sales has been re-invested in services for residents.

Now the team is close to agreeing a deal with Swansea University for the Swiss Cottage in Singleton Park. We hope to soon announce details.

Sustaining services

Our drive to sustain our leisure and cultural attractions has taken a step forward. Interest is now being invited from third parties, including not-for-profit and community-based companies and organisations, as part of a formal procurement process. We’re asking to hear from organisations with similar values and a proven track record in delivering quality cultural services for the community. This will enable us to better understand whether attractions including the museum service, Plantasia and community leisure centres can be sustained or generate investment for improvements through new partnerships and models of delivery when compared with transformed in-house models. No decisions have been made and staff will be kept updated.

Redeployment Open Day

Just a quick reminder that the Redeployment Open Day is being held in Committee Room 5 at the Guildhall 3 on Wednesday, November 2 (between 10am and 3pm). You’ll be able to find out about the variety of job opportunities available in areas including Social Services, Building Services and ICT. Current post-holders, managers and HR Officers will be in attendance to answer any questions. In addition relevant job information will be available.

Success story

Well done to staff in Highways who’ve been meeting our promise to fill potholes within 48 hours. Since launching the scheme in July we’ve fixed 1,161 potholes all within the 48hr promise. This is really important as it’s one of the major issues for residents and affects our reputation.

I’ll huff and I’ll puff …..

Some of you may be aware we’re undertaking major refurbishment works at Pentre’r Graig Primary School and last week the site team spent the morning assisting the school in delivering a practical demonstration on building materials and methods. The team was approached by the school to assist with the syllabus, using the “three little pigs” story of building homes. I just hope they were using bricks! Whoever came up with this excellent idea deserves a huge thank you and, if they contact me, I’ll happily provide them with a pair of tickets to watch a match at the Liberty Stadium.

Good news, but pressures remain

October 21, 2016 by Martin Leave a Comment

We’ve received a provisional indication of the likely budget settlement for the 2017/18 financial year. Overall the news is positive, although the slight increase announced will be offset by a number of major unavoidable budget pressures. It’s likely that we’ll need to find reductions of around £15 million to achieve a balanced budget and CMT is working closely with Cabinet to consider the savings options needed. The proposals will be considered at Cabinet in November and we will then go to public consultation on the specifics with a view to agreeing a final set of proposals in February. During the consultation period we also plan to hold staff roadshows at various venues – more details to follow.

City Deal

Work continues apace on the submission of the Swansea City Deal. Last week the four regional councils in the South West agreed a set of projects as part of the Internet Coast proposal, which has now been submitted to the Welsh Government and UK Government for consideration. The next few weeks are likely to be busy for all involved as the UK Government challenges the proposals in formal sessions with representatives from the region.

If we are successful then 11 projects stretching from the Pembrokeshire Marine Energy Scheme through to our City Digital District will see a £1.3bn investment to improve skills, infrastructure and innovation. We hope that the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, will indicate his support in the Autumn Budget statement on November 23. Thanks to all who have worked so hard on this.

In a further bid to bring investment to Swansea, the Leader and the Lord Mayor are flying out to China today to meet key Chinese officials in the cities of Wuhan and Nantong. Further strengthening the links we already have with these cities, the intention is to secure deals that will boost economic development, tourism and education here in Swansea. Largely funded by Chinese partner organisations, the delegation visit will also include representatives from Swansea’s business and academic communities as we look to tap into the lucrative Chinese marketplace.

Survey

Thank you to everyone who completed the recent staff survey. We’ll be analysing the feedback and identifying the key issues for staff. Once we do that we’ll put together an action plan to address issues both corporately and in specific areas. I’ll update you in the coming weeks.

Awards

Last night I attended the freedom ceremony for Wales football manager Chris Coleman in the Guildhall. It’s the highest honour the Council can confer on an individual or group, so Chris was humbled to join an exclusive club that includes the likes of John Charles, President Jimmy Carter and former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

I’m sure I speak for everyone at the Council when I say Chris is a terrific ambassador for Swansea who’s thoroughly deserving of being recognised in this way by his home city.

Footballers are not normally associated with eloquence but Chris spoke emotionally and fluently about his love for and gratitude to the city, family and community. Group leaders all praised his contribution to the nation and City and Councillor Clive Lloyd paid a personal tribute that raised a laugh and a round of applause. I can remember his first appearances for Swansea City in the 1980s so it was a real pleasure to talk to him.

I’m delighted we’ve been shortlisted for Service Transformation Project of the Year at this year’s ITSM Industry Awards for our work on the ICT service desk automation with Assyst. This is an award based on submissions from across the UK in both the private and public sector and we have reached the last four. The winner will be announced at the Awards Dinner which takes place during the ITSM16 Conference on 21st November. Thank you to everyone involved for their efforts.

Aberfan

At 9.15 this morning, workers in the Civic Centre and Guildhall observed a minute’s silence to mark the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster. It’s important we all take time to reflect on one of the worst tragedies Wales has ever known as we join other public sector organisations across the country in paying our respects to those who lost their lives back in 1966.

Well done

It’s now been nearly a week since the redeveloped Glynn Vivian Art Gallery re-opened to the public. I was lucky enough to be at the attraction’s official re-opening last Friday night, so I’ve seen for myself the huge amount of hard work that’s gone into transforming the building into a destination art gallery of international significance. Figures show almost 4,000 visits to the gallery within the first few days of its re-opening which is a great achievement.

Well done to staff in tourism, who have just launched their autumn crossover campaign for Swansea Bay to help attract as many visitors here as possible over coming months. Called Legendary Adventures, the campaign includes a stunning video that’s already been watched and shared hundreds of times on social media.

Standing up for staff

October 13, 2016 by Martin Leave a Comment

Not everything we do as a council is popular with the public, but some of the abuse our staff face is totally unacceptable. Staff working on highways schemes, civil parking enforcement, planning enforcement and child protection (to name but a few) can face abuse simply for carrying out their jobs. Some of the highways staff I‘ve spoken to seem to accept abuse as part of their daily routine. But it’s not acceptable and we will not tolerate it! I’m pleased to see our Innovation Community has brought together staff from across services including sheltered housing, civil parking, social services, highways and the contact centre to explore what they consider is unacceptable or abusive behaviour, why the public may behave abusively and the devastating impact it can have on staff. They’re now looking to develop a two-way ‘respect’ campaign between us and the public which includes looking at the messages we give out to the public, using organisations such as the NHS for inspiration. They’re also going to look at ways services can share information to protect staff. We’ll keep you updated on progress.

With this in mind I was delighted the Corporate Management Team received a report this week that not only highlighted the complaints we receive but also the many compliments our staff get from the public. We have statutory procedures for dealing with complaints but CMT are keen to see the other side of the coin too via the praise staff receive. Thank you to everyone for the effort you put in every day and please forward any compliments to your manager.

Just to illustrate some of the great work we do, some of our staff had an excellent night at the British Association of Social Worker Cymru awards. Vanessa Chambers won the Spirit of Social Work award for the ‘I am me’ guidance she developed which is all about supporting children to understand their journey through life. Foster Swansea received a Certificate of Achievement for the team award and Amanda Etherington and Martin Chapman were given Certificates of Achievement as Practice Assessors.

Have your say

With our staff survey closing today I want to encourage everyone to complete it. So far we’ve had more than 1,500 responses but if you haven’t completed the survey yet please take some time out to do so as it’s really important we get as many staff as possible giving their views. Whatever the results, the Corporate Management Team are committed to listening to you and addressing issues. Please follow this link to complete the survey click here.

Sticking with staff engagement, don’t forget ‘It’s all about you 2’ is being held at the Marriott Hotel on Thursday November 24. Drop in any time between 11am and 5pm. All staff should be encouraged and supported by their managers to attend this event. For further details click here

Glynn Vivian

Tonight I’ll be at the official opening of the refurbished Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, joining Council Leader Rob Stewart and First Minister Carwyn Jones. I had a sneak preview last week and seeing the finished article was astonishing. This multi-million pound development hasn’t been without its problems, but despite the staff and project team feeling at times like they were working through ‘the A to Z of everything that can go wrong’ – the results are worth waiting for. We have world-class arts facilities for Swansea and Wales. It’s now a member of the Plus Tate Network, which brings strong advocacy for the Gallery’s work in the visual arts in Wales and internationally. There are 10 drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, on loan from the Royal Collection Trust, alongside a contemporary installation by Artangel artist Lyndsay Seers and a selection of works on loan or from our own collection, including a Marcel Duchamp, a Picasso and Turner.

New spaces for lectures, expert conservation, touring exhibitions and collection displays are among the improvements, thanks to a new state-of-the-art extension linking the historic buildings. A new store for the 10,000 plus artworks and artefacts in our collection has also been added, as well as a modern entrance that means more people than ever can enjoy greatly improved access to the artworks. There are so many people that have been involved in this project and my thanks go to them all; but in particular to Jenni Spencer-Davies and her team at the Gallery for their tireless dedication to its success and our funding partners, especially at the Arts Council for their financial and technical support. I’m also grateful to our project manager Rob David for managing yet another complex project for the city, with the support of Tracy Nichols, and the senior management team in Cultural Services for steering the ambition, partnerships and opening weekend events. New challenges lie ahead but we’re immensely proud of the achievement.

Communities First

Carl Sargeant, the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, has announced a review of the Communities First programme, saying he’s minded to phase it out. Although we ‘d been planning for changes to the programme, we weren’t informed of the statement in advance and haven’t been involved in any review processes. This is obviously unsettling for staff working in Communities First in Swansea who deserve great credit for the positive difference they’ve made to people’s lives. We’ll continue to liaise with them and do everything we can to continue to keep those skills and experience in the organisation.

Success

Well done to our libraries staff who staged this year’s reading challenge. Almost 4,000 children took part and our libraries ran more than 400 events, attracting more than 10,000 children and adults. For the fourth year running, we had volunteers or ‘Reading Hacks’ who gave their skills and experience during our children’s events. The winners were presented with their prizes by the Lord Mayor last week, and the 18 volunteers also received their certificates.

Redeployment

There’s a Redeployment Day being held for staff facing potential redundancy or simply looking for a change of job. HR officers along with managers in areas that have opportunities will be on hand to discuss potential jobs. It’s being held at Committee Room 5 at the Guildhall on Wednesday, November 2 (10am to 3pm).

Adoption

Just a reminder that National Adoption Week 2016 takes place from October 17 to 23. It promotes all aspects of adoption to help encourage potential families to come forward. For further information click here.

Finally, congratulations to staff in facilities management who‘ve teamed up with the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service to identify where best to target funds. They’ve identified the most effective systems and schemes to keep people and property protected.

Collaboration on the cards

October 6, 2016 by Martin Leave a Comment

Future of local government

For the past few years all the talk has been about reorganising local government and reducing the number of councils. That was the view until the Assembly elections and since then there’s been big hints of a change of direction. Well this week we got the latest government thinking when Cabinet Secretary Mark Drakeford unsurprisingly announced that he was seeking collaboration between councils rather than full reorganisation. That’s not to say that he wouldn’t welcome any voluntary mergers. So, as it stands, the future for direction for school improvement and social services will be on a regional footing based on the Western Bay map of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend. This will pave the way for stronger collaboration and cooperation between the NHS and councils. It’s also no surprise that the city region footprint of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire will be the basis for greater collaboration on economic development, planning and transport.

It’s still early days so it’s unlikely anything will happen quickly and I’ll keep you posted as regional talks take place. I’m glad there’s now an end to the uncertainty because I know many staff and councillors have been concerned about the future.

More school visits

My programme of school visits has continued this week with Bishopston, YG Pontybrenin and Clase primary schools.

Last Thursday I met head teacher, Gareth Widlake, and his team for a discussion and tour of Bishopston. Although the school buildings are, like many others, in need of modernisation the staff, governors and community are making great strides in improving the learning and outdoor environments for children. I met the school council and the children told me of their aspirations to improve the play facilities by buying new equipment. They asked me a lot of questions, including the impact of Brexit on schools funding in future. I wasn’t expecting that particular curveball!

Following the school council I stood up in front of a couple of hundred junior pupils for a Q&A and sure enough the Brexit question came up again, along with a few more difficult ones including “which is your favourite school?”, “have we got the best teachers?”, “is private education better than public?” and “can we have better wifi?” I managed to wing a few answers and dodge the political questions and in return the children sang Calon Lan beautifully, accompanied admirably by Mr Widlake on the piano.

On Friday I met with Ceri Scourfield, head teacher at YG Pontybrenin. Ceri explained the ethos of the school and the plans for expansion to provide extra capacity in this very popular facility. A tour to each classroom gave me the opportunity to explain to the children what local councils do. I was surprised and encouraged by how much the pupils already knew about the various functions we carry out.

The conversation continued over lunch – my first school dinner for some considerable years. My grasp of the Welsh language is not as good as it should be but I instantly recognised the important words “pysgod a sglodion” and hot-footed it to the dinner hall to have lunch with the children. Thanks to Ceri, all the staff and children for the warm welcome on what was a very busy day for them all.

On Monday I visited Clase primary school. I was slightly early so I took a quick tour of the estate and the redevelopments I’d worked on some time ago. The area is much improved, particularly the environment, and officers and ward councillors have obviously put in a huge amount of work over the last few years. Major works were taking place on some of the houses behind Rheidol Avenue and it brought home the massive investment this council is making to its housing stock to reach the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

Despite working on the estate for a number of years I’d never been to the primary school so it was a real surprise when I walked into the reception area. It is a very welcoming place with all the clutter removed which gives a sense of calmness which is often difficult to maintain in the often hectic atmosphere of a primary school.

The head teacher, Sharon Hope, introduced me to her staff and again I visited the classrooms to say hello to the children. Sharon explained how the various parts of the Council and its partner agencies work together to support families with children in school and it was great to hear how well this appears to be working in Clase. The relationship between school and community is of fundamental importance.

Clase is a school which encourages creativity and the work being carried out in art and music will be critical for a generation that will need innovation and creativity as core skills in a rapidly-changing world.

I’m picking up some common threads from these school visits, the purpose of which is to make real the discussions we’re having at the Chief Executive’s Improvement Board, which are more tangible when you have seen things at first hand. I’ll be visiting a few more schools before the end of term but at the same time I intend to spend some time with staff in other parts of the organisation and I’ll be making sure there’s space in my diary to do this.

Glynn Vivian

Today I’ll be joining several Cabinet Members for a preview tour of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, which re-opens to the public next Saturday (October 15). A huge amount of work has gone on behind the scenes to reach this point, so my thanks to all staff involved. The redevelopment and restoration project will transform it into a destination gallery of international significance, helping further open up the arts to both local residents and visitors to the city.

Welcome

Rachel Moxey, our new Head of Poverty and Prevention, started work this week and I wish her all the best in this exciting and challenging role.

To Infinity and Beyond

Earlier in the year pupils from Blaenymaes primary school went to Liverpool to talk to the astronaut Tim Peake while he was still on board the International Space Station. The children have now been invited to Techniquest in Cardiff on 13 October to meet and speak to Tim in person. I think it’s the only school in Wales who will make a presentation to Tim and the First Minister on their project work on the space mission. Well done to all at Blaenymaes.

City Deal

Work continues apace to complete the bid for the Swansea Bay City Deal. The Leaders and Chief Executives of the four councils are meeting every Monday evening in Carmarthen to oversee the programme but there remains a lot to do before we submit to the UK Government at the end of the month. Thanks must go to the team in Economic Regeneration and Planning for a major effort to complete this work.

Macmillan Coffee Morning

During my visit to YG Pontybrenin the staff and children were holding a coffee morning to raise funds for Macmillan. They were doing a great job and I’m conscious that similar events were held in a number of our other venues. Our residential rehabilitation facility at Llanfair House held an event and raised £181.51. Llanfair is a very small unit so this is a fantastic achievement. Some cakes were made by the service users in a cooking group held the day before and others by the staff team (and their children in one case!). Congratulations to the team at Llanfair House and all the other staff who raised money for this important cause.